Six-wheel car-truck.



. PFLAGER.

G. H. HOWARD & H

SIX-WHEEL CAR TRUCK. APPLICATION IILBD APR. 11. 1914.

Patented N 0V. 24, 1914.

[garan/a ,7222123 N e @MM/f' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE H. HOWARD AND HAR-RY M. PFLAGER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO COMMONWEALTH STEEL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SIX-WHEEL CAR-TRUCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

Application filed April 11, 1914. Serial No. 831,144.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, CLARENCE H. How- ARD and HARRY M. PrLAoER, citizens of the United States, residing at city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Six-Wheel Car-Trucks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specilication, in Which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a six Wheel truck frame, the wheel piece of which is partially broken away in order to show our improved construction of equalizing members. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the truck frame with a portion of the wheel piece in vertical section in order to more clearly illustrate one of the equalizing members and its connection with said Wheel piece and the ournal boxes. Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevational view of a portion of the truck frame and a portion of one of the equalizing members and showing the shifting or self-adjusting fulcrum. Fig. l is a detail view illustrating a modified form of the equalizing member forming a part of our improved truck.

Our invention relates generally to railway truck construction, and more particularly to the construction of the truck frame wheel pieces and the arrangement of the equalizing members with respect to the truck frame, our present invention being an improvement upon the construction covered by Patent No. 1,080,555, granted December 9, 1913. In the above mentioned patent a series of semielliptic springs are arranged within the hollow wheel piece of the truck frame, said springs bearing upon the journal boxes and the adjacent ends of said springs cooperating with equalizing members, which latter are fulcrumed at predetermined points on the upper portion of the wheel piece, and as distinguished from this construction our present invention contemplates a pair of equalizing members having movable and auto matically adjustable fulcrums on the upper portion o1 the wheel piece, and coil springs arranged between the end portions of said equalizing members and the journal boxes.

The principal objects of our invention are to arrange the equalizing members and the coil springs within the hollow wheel pieces of the truck frame, and further to provide for the equalizing members automatically adjustable fulcrums by virtue of which construction the fulcrum of each equalizing member changes its position with res ect to the ends of said member so that sald fulcrum gradually moves toward the raised end of the member and moves away from the lowered end, thus shortening the distance between said fulcrum and the raised end, and correspondingly increasing the distance between the fulcrum and the lowered end, which action gives the lowered end the advantage m power, and consequently compensatmg for added deflection of the weakened spring, which would tend to lower one end of said equalizing member.

With the above and other objects in view` our invention consists in certain novel fea; tures of construction and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

The truck frame shown in the accompanying drawings is of an accepted six wheel type, the same being cast integral, and comprising substantially hollow or tubular wheel pieces A, end rails B, transoms C, and wheel pieces D. The wheel piece as shown is substantially box-shape in cross section and comprises a top plate 10, inner Wall 11, outer wall 12, and bottom plate 13. The outer wall 12 is preferably cut away at suitable points to permit the ready insertion or removal of the equalizing members and springs, and the bottom plate 13 is cut away between the pedestals 14 for the accommodation of the upper portion of the journal boxes and the springs resting thereupon. Formed integral with or fixed to the underside of the top plate 10 at suitable points are bearing blocks 15, the undersides of which are preferably flat and arranged at the ends of these bearing blocks are short depending lugs 16.

Positioned within the wheel pieces are the equalizing members, each comprising `a bar 17 provided on its upper side with a lug 18, and the top face of this lug is curved lengthwise as designated by 19, and said curved face bears upon the under face'of the corresponding block l5. The outer end of each bar is provided with an elongated spring seat 20 which receives the upper ends of one or more comparatively stiff coil springs Q1, the lower ends of which rest upon the corresponding journal boxes. The inner end of each equalizing member is provided with a spring seat 22, which rests upon a corresponding coil spring 23, the same being mounted upon the central journal box.

Our improved construction provides ay flexible and'universal equalization between the different pairs of wheels by virtue of the pivotal engagement of the truck frame with the equalizing bars, and where any one of the wheels is raised or lowered relative to the others, the corresponding equalizing bar will be rocked uponits fulcrumso as to maintain a proper distribution of the weight upon all. of the wheels. During the move ment of any one of the fulcrum bars 17, the curved bearing face 19 rocks upon the corresponding bearing block 15, thus shifting the position or point of fulcrum relative to the ends of the equalizing members so that the distance between the` fulcrum and the raised end of the bar is materially short.

ened, and likewise increasing the distance.

between the fulcrum and the lowered. end of the equalizing member. This action necessarily gives the lowered end of the equalizer the advantage in powerv and the change of position of the fulcrum point is gradual and in proportion to the movement of the equalizer. By thus increasing the flexibility oi the truck, the ready movement of the car is made more easy and gentle, and by arranging the equalizing members within the hollow wheel pieces, the entire lower portion of the truck is free and open to inspection or repairs.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 4, an equalizing member which is provided on its ends with spring seats has a fixed pointv of pivotal connection with the wheel piece of the truck frame. This construction will be found advantageous in certain forms of trucks.

It will be lreadily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of our improved truck frame can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit ofvour invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. The combination with a truck frame, and its journal boxes, of an equalizing member having a shiftable fulcrum on the truck frame, and springs interposed between the ends of said member and the journal boxes.

2. The combination with a truck frame and its journal boxes, of an equalizing member having an automatically adjustable fulcrum on the truck iframe, and springs interposed between the ends of said member and the journal boxes.

mismos ends of the equalizing members, and a lug on the equalizing member, which lug has a curved bearing face which engages a part of the truck frame;

5. In a truck, the combination with a truck frame and journal boxes, of a bearing 'formed on the truck frame, an equalizing member having a curved bearing face which engages the bearing on the frame, and springs interposed between the ends of the equalizing member and the journal boxes.

6. lln a car truck, an equalizing member Varranged between the truck frame and journal boxes, which member has a shiftable fulcrum on the truck frame and iiexible members between the zends of the equalizing member and the journal boxes.

7. The combination with a truck frame, of an equalizing member having a shiftable fulcrum on said frame and springs supporting the ends of said equalizing member.

8. The combination with a car truck frame, of an equalizing member having a fulcrum on said frame, which fulcrum is automatically adjustableA toward and away from the ends of said equalizing member during the vertical movement of said ends.

9. rlhe combination with a car truck 'frame having a bearing face, of an equalizing member providedv with a bearing face, which coperates with the bearing face on the truck frame, one of which bearing faces is straight and the other bearing face being curved.

1 0. The* combination with' a car truck frame providediwith a fiat bearing face, of an equalizing member having a curved bearing face which engages the fiat bearing face on the truck frame.

.ln testimony whereof we hereunto aiiix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses, this 6th day of April, 1914.

Witnesses:

HAL C. BnLLviLLE, @rre V.. MYERS.

posed between the journal boxes and the lll@ 

